Re‐assessing assessment in clinical social work practice

Abstract

Changes in client populations, agency services, and treatment technologies encourage a re-examination of the assessment process in clinical social work. Postmodern theory raises additional challenges to ideas about the existence of truth in the context of ambiguity. Assessments of clients are influenced by the nature and scope of agency service, the theoretical and value orientation of the social work practitioner, and the unit of attention. Assessments in three practice settings illustrate both the similarities and differences in applying values and belief systems, theories drawn from other disciplines, and social work practice in a search for understanding the distinctive qualities of the human situation.A universally accepted principle in clinical social work practice is that it is important to gather some data about clients and their situations in order to provide service. However, there is less unanimity about the Rurpose, scope, and method of gaining this information. This reflects differences in behavioral theories and treatment philosophies; agency settings; changing views of the nature of science; and ethical, legal and societal considerations.The purpose of this article is to re-examine the assessment process in the light of the current dialogue in social work research and practice about the nature of knowing in the context of ambiguous data. A proposal for differential assessment is offered based upon how the nature and scope of agency service, theoretical and value orientation, and the unit of attention affect the assessment process.An assessment is an attempt to understand or explain a part of what is known of the world of the client in order to provide a service or fulfill a need. In essence, it is a series of definitions of a situation as viewed by the client and the worker as participants in a process, each of whom may attach specific and perhaps different meanings to what is "known" in order to fit it into a schema or paradigm. For the client this might take the form of shaping an historical narrative so that it leads up to or "makes sense" out of the current situation. For the practitioner it

Bureaucratic Barriers to Service Delivery, Administrative Advocacy, and Mother Goose

“…Creation of a single uniform recordkeeping system that reflects a comprehensive service for youth and their families; such a record can be developed by first identifying common features and differences and then integrating these features with the at risk criteria suggested earlier in this report. (Kirk, Siporin, & Kutchins, 1989;Mailick, 1991;Gutheil, 1992;Tracy & Whittaker, 1990;Congress, 1994;Kemp, Whittaker, & Tracy, 1997) have explored alternative models of assessment for social-work practice. To counter the culture of labeling and pathologizing individuals, which ignores contextual issues impacting on one's life, TICKLE staff adapted a list of risk factors identified in the Federal Anti-Drug Act of 1988 (P.L.…”